Growing into Your Own Skin
by sentarstage
Summary: An AU of the second film – Tom and Kate decide to take the brood to Lake Winnetka three years later instead of when the film set it. Three extra years means more teenagers and "young adults", more hormones and more craziness. Sarah already knows Elliot from school, not that the Bakers are aware, and are already close to each other. How will the trip go this time?
1. Full Summary and Character Ages

**Wow, three red bells before bed time really keep you up all night but apparently get the creative juices flowing (which I should be using for my revision and exams but oh well…). It' s been years since I've written anything but this is just flowing into my head! And before you ask, yes, I am English and while I'll try to keep things American, I can't guarantee it'll be anywhere near perfect ^_^;**

**I would also like to say thank you to LionsOnASee-Saw, as I used her fic (A Sarah and Elliot Story) as a guideline to the characters' ages, nicknames from the films, etc.**

**Full Summary:**

**An AU of the second film – Tom and Kate Baker decide to take their entire brood to Lake Winnetka three years later instead of when the film set it. Three extra years means more teenagers and "young adults", more hormones and more craziness. Sarah earned herself a sport scholarship into the highly prestigious Royal Trinity Boarding School and has been attending there for the last three years along with Elliot Murtaugh and his younger siblings. Both families will be at Lake Winnetka and both families will meet again but Sarah and Elliot are already close friends, unbeknown to the Bakers. How will it turn out this time.**

**Pairings:**

Elliot/Sarah (main pairing)

Tom/Kate, Jimmy/Serena, Nora/Bud, Charlie/Anne, Calvin/Lorraine (side pairings)

**Ages:**

**The Bakers **

Tom Baker (51 years old)

Kate Baker (48 years old)

Nora Baker McNulty (28 years old)

Bud McNulty (28 years old)

Tom Jr "Tommy" McNulty (3 years old)

Charlie Baker (23 years old)

Lorraine Baker (22 years old)

Henry Baker (17 years old)

Jake Baker (16 years old)

Sarah Baker (16 years old)

Mike Baker (15 years old)

Jessica Baker (13 years old)

Kim Baker (13 years old)

Mark Baker (12 years old)

Kyle Baker (8 years old)

Nigel Baker (8 years old)

**The Murtaughs **

Jimmy Murtaugh (50 years old)

Serena Murtaugh (32 years old)

Anne Murtaugh (23 years old)

Calvin Murtaugh (22 years old)

Becky Murtaugh (21 years old)

Daniel Murtaugh (19 years old)

Elliot Murtaugh (17 years old)

Robin Murtaugh (13 years old)

Lisa Murtaugh (13 years old)

Kenneth Murtaugh (12 years old)


	2. Catching up with the Bakers

**Okay, people. Here we go! And don't forget to review!**

"Hey there" **– speech**

_Hey there_ **– thoughts**

**Chapter 1: Catching Up With the Bakers**

After yet another long day of looking after their remaining children, who were wholeheartedly embracing the beginning of their summer vacation, Kate Baker gratefully sank into the mattress of her and Tom's king sized bed and sighed with relief.

"Having three kids out of the house definitely does not make this job any easier." She chuckled, closing her eyes wearily.

Her husband hummed distractedly in reply while continuing to wash his face in the sink of their en suit bathroom. Kate opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him through the doorway. Tom had be quite a bit more subdued rather than his normal exuberant self but she couldn't for the life of her work out why.

Kate furrowed her brows in concern, "What's the matter Tom? You're not usually this quiet. Have Kyle and Nigel been asking you awkward questions again? I knew I should have allowed them to help Kim and Jessica finish their Sex Ed poster -"

Tom blinked owlishly, his lips twitching into a hint of a grin, before he cut his wife off as she began to go into a rant.

"No, no. It's nothing like that. I'm fine, really."

Kate fixed her husband with a look as he crawled into bed beside her.

"I have been married to you for almost three decades, have brought up twelve children with you, three of whom are now adults, the eldest of who has her own husband and child and is now heavily pregnant with her second." She said dryly, "I think I have enough experience to know that you are not _fine_."

Tom chuckled, turning onto his side to face his wife.

"Well, you know… It's just – I was just thinking… the kids – they all seem to be growing up so quickly now. It feels as though it were just yesterday that they were all needing diapers and sippy cups… Now Nora's got her own family, Charlie and Lorraine are both in college, Jake's bringing home a new girlfriend every other week and Sarah spends most of the year at boarding school…"

Kate watched as her husband trailed off and reached out to gently stroke the side of his face. In all honesty she could clearly see where he was going with this. She, herself, dreaded the day when their home would be devoid of any of their quickly growing children. They may already have grandchildren in the form of their eldest daughter, Nora, and her husband, Bud McNulty's, son Tommy McNulty and his unborn sibling but it just wouldn't be quite the same.

Kate smiled sadly at her thoughts, "They all have to grow up some time, you know."

"I know. It just feels like – like we're slowly drifting apart as a family. I just want to bring back some of that closeness somehow."

"How do you propose we do that?"

Tom paused in thought before carrying on, "Well, it's summer vacation… How about a vacation? Yeah, a family vacation! Bud, Nora and little Tommy can all come too since Bud's promotion means he gets earlier and long summer vacations from his work now!"

Kate watched the smile on Tom's face widen into an excited grin as his eyes lit up with ideas, crazy ones no doubt but ideas none the less.

"We'll go back to Lake Winnetka!"

_Yep, definitely crazy,_ Kate thought as she attempted to quieten her husband's excited voice.

"Me and Charlie have been fixing the cabin up these last few summers. Trust me Kate; it looks so good that even Lorraine wouldn't mind staying in it for a couple of weeks!"

Kate raised an eyebrow, _So that's what they've been doing during their 'manly bonding sessions'._

"Charlie and Lorraine both have their own cars which will make the journeys there and back so much easier! Bud and Nora have their own car-!"

Kate quickly put her hand over her husband's mouth to prevent any more words from spewing out uncontrollably, her lips twitching in mirth.

"Alright, I admit that this sounds like a good idea and should be fun." She smirked, laying back down into her pillows, "You get to convince the kids though."

Tom simultaneously paled and pouted at her (a curious expression for a man of age indeed) before smiling and kissing the corner of her mouth tenderly. He twisted to turn off the still lit lamp on his bedside table before lying back down and resting his arm on his wife's waist.

"I love you, Mrs Kate Thomas Bake," he whispered into the darkness.

"I love you too, Mr Thomas Baker," came the ever tender reply.

(Two days later)

Sarah Baker rested her head against the backseat of her second eldest sister's car as she listened to said second sister bicker with Charlie over which radio station to listen to. Charlie wanted to choose since he was the one who was actually driving (his own truck being put into the, thankfully, sensible driving hands of Henry) whereas Lorraine argued that it was "her car" and therefore "she gets to choose the goddamn station!"

_It's as if we've never been away from each other_, Sarah thought while grinning a little and looking around the interior of the vehicle.

Lorraine's suitcases predictably took up the rest of the backseat and most of the trunk and, though you would never be able to tell, Sarah and Charlie's suitcases were somewhere under that lot as well. The majority of the rest of the Baker's luggage was in the back of Charlie's truck. Now, the reason behind Charlie not driving the pride and joy that is his old, beat up truck is that Lorraine point blank refused to have Jake in the car with. The teen had been ranting non-stop to anyone who would listen (as well as those who wouldn't) about the latest argument he had gotten into with his latest girlfriend. Though Lorraine didn't want to have to drive the whole journey there, she also refused to trust Henry with her "baby" (despite the fact he was already a better driver than her) which is how we came to this situation; Henry would drive Charlie's truck, skilfully ignoring the ravings of his younger brother, who was to strictly be a passenger, and Charlie would drive Lorraine's car with Lorraine and Sarah as passengers.

Sarah stifled a snort at the thought of the dynamics of her family. Despite her going to boarding school for the last three years and only coming back for the major holidays, she was still super close with Jake and Mike. However, even she couldn't handle another complaint from Jakes mouth. Absently twisting the silver ring around her thumb, Sarah looked out of the window next to her watching the scenery blur by.

Having finally settled on a station they could both listen to, Lorraine turned from Charlie and leaned back into her seat, cracking open the window to let some fresh air circulate the stuffy interior on the car.

_Ugh, I hate outdoors-y stuff. There better not be any bugs or I am so out of there! Crazy Dad and his crazy ideas for 'family bonding'_, Lorraine sighed and let her eyes wander to the rear-view mirror of her car, resting her gaze upon the reflection of her younger sister. So much of her seemed to had changed since she started going to that boarding school. Yet at the same time, so much hadn't changed at all.

_What was that place called?_, Lorraine furrowed her brows in thought,_ It sounded super rich and church-like. Royal something. Royal Trio? Royal Divinity? Something posh._

Ever the modern, fashion conscious girl (or woman really), Lorraine slowly perused her sister's attire. Blue lace up vans and tan, cuffed chino shorts which went to about an inch below her knees. Lorraine knew from that morning that Sarah had on a long white tank-top with the name and logo of another one of those rock bands she and Charlie seemed to like so much recently.

_Sleeping With Sirens, I think. Jeez, these bands of theirs have such weird names_, Lorraine thought with a slight shake of her head before continuing her inventory of Sarah's appearance.

The tank top was covered by a large navy blue hoodie, several sizes too big for Sarah, and was zipped up half way with what Lorraine thought to be Sarah's school's crest peeking out from behind the open collar. The number "12" was stitched, in white cloth, onto the shoulders of the sleeves as well as the back of the hoodie, though in a much bigger size. All in all it seemed to be quite a manly hoodie, even for her tomboyish sister who had now finished lazily twisting her somewhat longer deep brown hair into a plait over her shoulder.

_I could have sworn the name on the back said 'EL'. Two letters? Maybe they're initials. They definitely don't relate to Butch in any way… ooh! Maybe a secret boyfriend? Hah! That would be the day, though it was definitely some guy's hoodie…_

Lorraine quietly snickered in her seats, earning a weird look from Charlie. She paid him no mind however as the unmistakeable glint of jewellery coming from her sister's hand caught her eye.

Lorraine smirked, "What's that on your hand, Butch? Did a boy actually work up the guts to give you a promise ring? Maybe a proposal?"

At these words, Charlie's looked up sharply, kicking himself into "Over-Protective-Big-Brother Mode", even for the sister who swore off boys at the tender age of three.

Sarah paid him no mind however, easily recognising the teasing tone of Lorraine's voice and fully prepared to give back just as good as she got.

"Chill, Princess." Sarah smirked right back, "We don't all live in that glittery, pink fairy tale world of yours. This is just a school ring."

Sarah held up her right hand to let the silver band on her thumb be clearly seen. Lorraine's expression quickly changed to that of curiosity as she turned in her seat to get a better look.

"You mean like a class ring?"

"Sort of, I guess, but every student gets one when they start at Royal Trinity–"

_That was the name!_

" – no matter when they begin or leave. It kind of links us together as a sort of family, I suppose. Even the teachers have one. After your last year, Upper Sixth Form, you get given another ring but this is more like a proper, crest ring with the whole coat of arms instead of just the crest. That one is supposed to go on the ring finger of your right hand." Sarah pulled off the ring and handed to her sister for closer inspection.

"What? So this one's actually supposed to go on your thumb?" Charlie interjected, also curious.

Sarah shrugged, "Apparently. No idea why."

Lorraine looked at the ring. It wasn't very thick or heavy but it was quite wide, apparently to allow for the detailing of the crest in coloured enamel. The shield was taken up predominantly by a white bishops hat with a diagonal golden stripe running behind it from the top left of the crest down to the right. The remaining sections of the crest were navy blue, the same blue as Sarah's hoodie Lorraine noted, and had a small, fierce, golden lion in each of the two sections. The was also some italicised writing on the inside of the ring.

Lorraine raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow, _Nos simul pugnare pro magnificentia? What in the name of Tyra Banks' legs does that mean?_

"Hey, Butch, what's this writing on the inside?"

"Oh, that's just the school motto. It means 'Together we shall strive for greatness'."

Lorraine's other eyebrow rose to match its mate as she continued looking at the ring. Charlie gave Sarah a teasing half-smile from the rear-view mirror.

"No offense, Sarah, but this school of yours is sounding pretty damn posh."

Sarah grinned back at her brother in amusement, "Not gonna lie to you, Charlie, it IS pretty damn posh. You should hear some of the rich kids: _My daddy does this_ and _my allowance is this much_ and _my pencil case was this fucking ridiculous in price_."

Both Lorraine and Charlie laughed at Sarah's mocking, though crude, imitation of these spoiled brats. Charlie then locked his gaze with his little sister in the mirror.

"You're happy though, right? You're happy at this place?"

Lorraine handed the ring back to Sarah before looking at her, also needing to hear the girl's reply. She knew that the relationship between her and Sarah stood out due their polar opposite personalities and their never-ending clashes of wit and will. Lorraine still loved her though. Sarah was her sister, her family. That means unconditional love and caring.

Sarah looked up at her siblings and smiled. It was small but so tender and genuine that it almost broke their hearts; sometimes they forgot that their little sister was very much human with all the normal sensitive emotions instead of the cold, unbreakable, prankster.

"Yeah," Sarah rested her head back against the window beside her, "Yeah, I'm happy. I miss you guys but I love it there. It's fun. I feel free. I've met some really great people there… "

Sarah trailed off and started playing with her school ring again, that small smile still on her lips. Tearing their eyes from their sister's content form, Lorraine and Charlie glanced at one another. They were both surprised at the depth of emotion in Sarah's soft words. After a moment they turned back around to concentrate on completing the rest of their journey to the lake. The radio continued to buzz on tunefully, softly in the background.

**And there we go! Chapter 1 is complete and has over 2000 words. So tell me what you guys like, don't like and what you want to see in the coming chapters through your reviews! You know you wanna press that button ;)**

**Sentarstage, out!**


	3. Reunions of English Terminology

**Hi guys! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, I hope you guys like this chapter as much as the last one!**

"Hey there"** – speech**

_Hey there_** – thoughts **

**-GIYOS-**

**Chapter 2: Reunions of English Terminology:**

After far too many hours together in close quarters, the Bakers exited their vehicles to take a look around the place that the majority of them hadn't visited in years. True to his word, Tom and Charlie really had cleaned the old (but still large) cabin up. There was even a tyre swing held up by a brand new rope attached to a sturdy looking tree by the front porch. The cabin had been repainted and even the old, rickety rocking chairs had been repaired and given a new coat or varnish. Not even Lorraine could find anything to immediately complain about.

Tom slung an arm around his eldest son's shoulders, "I think we did good, Charlie-boy, I think we did good. Even Princess over there hasn't said anything."

Lorraine just gave her father a withering look and walked back to her car to start removing her luggage. Tom and Charlie laughed good-naturedly before turning to follow her lead.

"Alright, guys! Get your bags so we can get you into your rooms! Boys, north! Girls, south!"

Having already extracted her suitcase and black canvas Valo messenger bag from beneath Lorraine's mountain of "necessary" luggage, Sarah stood off to side, at peace with the chaos around her and staring lazily in the opposite direction of the Baker cabin. A small tug on her leg brought her out of her thoughts as she looked down to see her three year old nephew gazing at her with impossibly wide, blue eyes. She smiled at him and picked the boy up into her arms.

"What lookin' at, Sarah?"

Sarah smiled at Tommy's childish speech pattern before directing the boy's gaze out across the lake. Tommy's eyes amazingly grew even wider.

"Is dat Disneylan'?"

Sarah chuckled, "Not quite. That's the holiday home which belongs to my friends' family. They're really rich so it's a lot bigger than our one."

"Wow!" the boy refused to tear his gaze from the pristine buildings which made up The Boulders.

Sarah smiled again, "You know, if you promise to be on your best behaviour, I'll take you over there to play."

Tommy turned his head to face her so fast that she thought he might get whiplash.

"Really?"

"Really, really." Sarah confirmed with a nod of her head.

Tommy beamed and hugged her tight around the neck. Sarah laughed before putting him down on his own two feet. She held his small right hand in her left and took a hold of her suitcase with her right.

"Now, come on. Let's find a room and unpack!"

Tommy and Sarah grinned at each other before heading off towards the cabin, neither noticing two pairs of eyes watching them happily.

Nora smiled at the two, happy that her son got on so well with her sister, before turning to face her mother while stroking her protruding stomach.

"Mom, I'm glad Sarah got that sport scholarship into Royal Trinity Boarding School. We may not get to see her as often but she seems so much more content with herself now."

Kate put the straps of Nora's remaining bag onto her shoulder, as Bud already had his arms full, and put an arm around her eldest child, supporting her all the way into the cabin. A smile emerged at the memory of the smiles on her third eldest daughter and grandson's faces.

"So am I, Nora. So am I."

**-GIYOS-**

Several hours of enthusiastic unpacking, difficulties with bed sheets and arguments over who had called dibs on which room first, later and it was still light enough for the Baker clan to decide on having dinner outside. Kate did eventually convince her husband not extract the barbecue from the depths of the shed until the next day though.

Kate took Sarah and Lorraine to set places to the large wooden table which would house the Baker brood. Nora followed them, if only to recline into one of the rocking chairs, while Tommy coloured quietly on the floor next to her. Nora's due date was getting close and the size of her bump made it hard for her to even get up or down the stairs without getting out of breath.

Sarah stood at the end of the table, facing the cabin, surrounded by boxes of plates, cutlery and glasses. As per her mother's instructions, she wiped each piece of tableware clean of any dust or dirt before handing it to either Kate or Lorraine who would set it in its place on their respective sides of the table. Lorraine of course grumbled the whole way through about possibly damaging her manicure.

"Aunty Lowaine", Tommy called.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"Come, look at what I drawed for you!"

Nora gently corrected her son on his grammar while Lorraine left the table to sit next to her nephew on the porch and look at the lovingly crafted artistic masterpiece.

Nora smiled gently while continuing to look out towards the lake. The sun was setting slightly now, causing a wonderful glow to reflect off of the water's surface. Continuing to rock slowly, Nora hummed as she saw a figure walking up the dirt path towards them. She squinted to try and get a better look. The figure was definitely male but didn't look like her father, Bud or any of her brothers. Nora nudged her sister to get her attention.

"Hey," she whispered, "do you know who that is?"

Lorraine looked up and also squinted at the male figure as he came into focus. Tanned skin, dark spiky hair, chiselled feature, fairly well built as well. He was definitely a teenager though. Maybe in his late teens? He wore a black t-shit and brown, Hawaiian flower-print board shorts and flip-flops.

"Wow, he's hot." Lorraine whispered back to her sister, "Too young for me but still hot. I wonder what he's doing here. I definitely don't recognise him."

They continued to watch as the boy came closer, Kate also eventually noticing his presence. With her back towards him, Sarah appeared to be the only one unaware of the boy. Nearing them now, the boy grinned at the older females and held a finger to his lips as he stealthily crept up behind Sarah. The women and Tommy were understandably puzzled but kept silent as he didn't seem very threatening. Now directly behind an unknowing Sarah, the boy raised his arms up as far out as they would go and was just about to go in for the surprise bear-hug attack when –

"Elliot Lucas Murtaugh, if you so much as contemplate going through with what you're about to go through, I swear down, I will castrate you with a wooden spork!"

The boy promptly deflated, rather like an untied balloon in fact. Kate, Nora and Lorraine stared unsure whether to be more shocked by Sarah actually being aware of the boy behind her, apparently knowing his identity or the fact that she just threatened him with castration via a wooden spork (which they weren't even sure if they owned). Tommy just sat there; blissfully unable to work out what was actually going on.

The boy, now known as Elliot, moved to stand beside Sarah and stared incredulously at her. Sarah turned to look at him for the first time and raised an eyebrow.

"How? How did you know I was there? How did you know it me?! I was trying so hard to be stealthy!"

Sarah turned back nonchalantly to the glass she was wiping down, "What can I say? You get subjected to something enough times in three years and you start to develop a sixth sense for it."

Elliot continued to gape at her while the older members of their audience tried to grasp the fact that the two teens obviously knew each other. Sarah turned to face Elliot and gave him a grin.

"Chill, I'm just joking with you." She gestured towards the table covered by their shadows, "I saw your shadow."

Elliot blinked at the table for a few moments before groaning loudly and collapsing onto the bench beside the table, pouting and glaring witheringly at her.

"Spoilsport."

Sarah grinned teasingly at him, handing him tableware to set out on the side he was sitting on.

"As Mrs Williard would say, pouting is most unbecoming of you, sir."

Elliot just continued to glare at her, valiantly trying to stop his lips from twitching. It became too much for him however and a smile erupted onto his face as he stood up to capture her in the bear-hug he had been attempting to do moments earlier.

Nora and Lorraine watched the scene astonished. This girl was their tomboyish, though admittedly still pretty, sister and this boy was HOT. How do they know each other and, more importantly, why do they seem to be so close?

Nora turned to her sister, also known as the Professor of Love, Attraction and Flirtation.

_Lord knows she's been in enough relationships and had enough crushes to earn that title._

"Was it me, Lorraine, or was there some flirting going on between those two?"

Lorraine was silent for a few moments.

"…Nah." She replied while turning to face the boy and her younger sister before quickly whipping around to face Nora again with wide eyes, "At least I don't think so. I didn't think Sarah knew how to flirt."

By this time, Kate had emerged from whatever stupor she was in and approached her daughter and the boy, who still had an arm around her shoulders, laughing at something one of them must have said.

"Sarah, dear, would you mind introducing us to your, err, friend?"

Sarah grinned at her mother, pulling Elliot forward to stand in front of her and closer to Kate. Elliot smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Sure. El, this is my mom, Kate Baker. Mom, this is Elliot Murtaugh. His holiday home is that great, big, beautiful monstrosity across the lake."

Elliot smirked down at her, "Beautiful monstrosity? You bringing out the oxymorons, girl?"

"Working my way to bathos, bitch." Sarah replied without missing a beat.

"Ooh, got to love that alliteration." Elliot shot back, his voice lowering into an alluring growl while trying to hold back laughter.

"Children!"

Elliot and Sarah turned back to Kate in surprise. Both had forgotten that they had an audience.

"Language!"

"Sorry." They replied in perfect unison.

Everyone was silent for a few moments before Sarah broke it with a smirk.

"We spend far too much time in English."

"Way too much time." Elliot agreed with an identical smirk.

**-GIYOS-**

**And there we go! Chapter 2 is finished and Elliot has made an appearance. Kudos to anyone who understands the English terminology references (if you've taken English at AS or A2, you'll definitely get it!)**


	4. Chess Sensuality and Friendships

**Good lord, it's been a couple of months since I last updated. Sorry guys! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, especially Ashy143 who even went as far as to pm me (sorry it took so long!). Hope this chapter was worth the wait!**

"Hey there"** – speech**

_Hey there_** – thoughts **

**-GIYOS-**

**Chapter 3: Chess Sensuality and Friendship**

Lorraine helped Nora get out of the rocking chair and walked down to meet the male newcomer. He and Sarah were still giggling about how they apparently spend too much time in their English lessons while Kate looked on with an expression that was half confused and half exasperated.

As the two sisters neared, Tommy trailing behind them, Nora stuck out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Nora. Sarah's eldest sister."

Elliot smiled and took her hand before proceeding to kiss it. It didn't take long for a blush to creep up to the young woman's cheeks and she was thankful that neither her husband, father or brothers were around to witness it.

"A pleasure to meet you, though I've already heard a lot about the both of you." He replied, smiling at Lorraine as well before turning back to Nora, "Congratulations on your second child by the way."

Nora's eyebrows rose slightly while she quietly thanked him, her words soon being drowned out Lorraine.

"So you've heard a lot about us have you?" She questioned, her eyes burning with obvious curiosity.

Elliot smirked and sent her a wink, "Oh but of course."

At this all three of the elder women raised their eyebrows. A flirty gentlemen? The cheeky bugger.

FLOP!

The three burst out into laughter as a tea towel hit the boy squarely in the middle of his tanned face.

"Dude, you are completely outrageous." Sarah told him, smirking.

"Sorry. I just couldn't resist it. It was far too good an opportunity." Elliot replied, throwing the tea towel back at her.

Sarah rolled her eyes, "You definitely need to get out more."

By this time Tommy had gradually edged his way forwards to get a colder look at this new teenager. The only older males that were almost constantly in his life, apart from his father, was his grandfather and uncles. Tommy wasn't quite sure what to make of Elliot yet but Sarah seemed to like him. He even made her laugh! Several times!

Elliot's eyes drifted down to the small boy with sandy blond hair and wide blue eyes.

_So this is Tommy. Cute kid. _He thought as he knelt down in front of the boy.

"Hey there, little man. I'm Elliot. What's your name?" He said with a smile, sticking out his hand for the young boy to shake.

Tommy stared at it for a moment as if his scrutiny of the older boy could reveal any and all of Elliot's faults. Slowly he reached out to take his hand and proceeded to gently and timidly shake it while sending Elliot a small smile. Sarah's eyes softened as she watched the scene.

Nora couldn't help but notice the ease with which Elliot got Tommy to trust him. It almost seemed practised; like he'd done it before. Usually Tommy was very shy, particularly towards strangers who were much taller than himself.

"So, Elliot", Lorraine began again, curiosity continuing to burn like a bonfire in her eyes, "Apparently you know a lot about us but we don't seem to know a lot about you. You mind filling us in on what Butch has so conveniently forgotten?"

The boy in question turned to Sarah in mock outrage.

"You haven't mentioned me? Not even once? And here I was, thinking we were friends! I am appalled!"

"Don't be so dramatic." Sarah replied without batting an eyelash.

"Yes, dear."

Turning around, Elliot sent a lopsided grin at the three women watching them.

"Well Mrs Baker, Mrs McNulty and Miss Baker. As you already know, my name is Elliot Murtaugh and I'm seventeen years old. As for how I know Sarah…" He paused, holding up his hand, allowing the silver gleam of his matching school ring to be visible, "We both go to Royal Trinity Boarding School."

Lorraine furrowed her eyebrows slightly, "But you're seventeen so…"

"I'm in the year above Sarah but we're in the same house. Think Harry Potter, just without the moving staircases and talking paintings."

At this information, Lorraine's mind kicked into high gear. An older boy? Houses that aren't gender specific? Charlie would be ready to strangle the poor boy if he were here. Lorraine's mouth curved into a miniscule smirk.

_Time to do some more digging. I'm behind on blackmail material for Butch anyway._

"So if you two are in different years, how did you meet?"

Sarah's eyes trailed over to her sister's, fully aware of what Lorraine was up to but wondering if she had possibly considered that Elliot would already be used to this manner of questioning considering he had older siblings himself. Granted, having as many siblings as the Baker Brood was rare in this modern economy but the Murtaugh Clan certainly didn't need to worry about wealth issues…

Elliot just smiled, having already clocked onto Lorraine's train of thought and determined not to let her embarrass Sarah or himself as much as many of his siblings had, "Well, I always thought it was a bit unfair that the Years 7s got a lot of help when first entering the school but any new older students just got left to fend for themselves while being surrounded by people who already knew each other. It's just so awkward. I couldn't even imagine being in that position so when I saw Sarah sitting on her own in the common room on the first night, I went over and enchanted her with my alluring charms –"

Sarah rolled her eyes before interrupting him, "He asked me if I wanted to play chess with him."

"Dude! You're ruining my sense of sensuality!"

"El. There's nothing sensual about playing a game of chess in a room full of hyperactive, prepubescent children."

Elliot nodded his head in agreement, "Especially when the other person has no idea how to play."

"Har fucking har."

"Sarah!"

"Sorry, Mum!"

"Anyway," Elliot drew out the word, "after that, I invited Sarah to hang out with me and my friends and, to cut a not so long story short, never have we ever parted since."

The older women stared at his grinning face for a moment. Really and truthfully, it probably shouldn't have surprised them that Sarah's first friend at her new school was a guy but the fact that he was older, ridiculously cute and obviously close with her, did throw for a loop. It just wasn't really something that they were expecting.

"Besides, we both like skateboarding."

Now, that made more sense.

A yawn from little Tommy reminded the Baker matriarch that it was indeed getting late and that her family still needed to be fed.

"Well, Elliot, it's getting dark. Do you want to stay for dinner? I'm sure we could squeeze you in somewhere."

The teenager smiled gratefully at the older woman, "Thanks Mrs Baker but I'm going to have to head back before my Dad sends out a search party."

At this, he made a face while Sarah grinned in amusement, knowing full well what Jimmy Murtaugh could be like when he started to worry about his children.

"I really just came by to say hi to Sarah and to give her this." Elliot pulled out a black and red memory-stick from the pocket of his board short and handed it to Sarah with a wink, "Courtesy of our resident photographer, Darryl Moriates."

Sarah grinned at the small object in her hands, "Good old Daz."

"Anyway, it's awesome to finally meet you guys. Especially you, little man." Elliot said cheerfully, kneeling down to shake Tommy's tired hand again, drawing a smile from the boy, "No doubt we'll be seeing more of each other while we're both here."

Lorraine raised her eyebrows at his assumption while watching him turn towards her little sister. Apparently the boy knew something they didn't.

Elliot stepped closer to Sarah before enclosing her in a hug and turning his head ever so slightly to whisper in her ear without drawing the suspicions of their audience.

"I'll be seeing you later, _kárdia mou_. Feel like jet skiing tomorrow?"

Sarah valiantly tried to force down the heat that had crawled up her to her cheeks and nodded her head against his shoulder while moving her own arms around his waist to hug him back before pulling away.

"Awesome! I'll see you later then." Elliot grinned and waved at them before jogging back down the dirt part that had led him to the cabin.

Sarah watched his shadowed figure get gradually smaller before looking back down at the memory-stick in her hands. She didn't bring her laptop. That meant she was going to have to borrow one of her siblings' laptops. That sibling was probably going to be one of her sisters. Sarah noticed Lorraine's smirking face from the corner of her eyes.

_Fuck. This is probably going to get really awkward… for me._

"Come on girls! The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can eat and the sooner I can go to bed!"

Sarah quickly slipped the memory-stick into her pocket while turning to help finish setting the table and bringing the food out, all the while avoiding the eyes of both her sisters and her mother.

_Definitely going to get awkward._

**-GIYOS-**

**Well, there you go! I hope it was up to your standards. I know it wasn't all that exciting but it's all needed for the coming chapters. Don't forget to review and comment on what you would like to see happen in future chapters!**

**Peace out, people**

**~Sentarstage**


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